A man wanted in connection with a shooting that occurred in the front lawn of the Polk County School District Board of Education Central Office in late May was arrested on Friday.
According to Polk County Jail reports, 19-year-old Derian Bona Ventura-Flores of a Lawrenceville, Georgia address, was taken into custody on Friday afternoon at 2:38 p.m. by Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies on an aggravated assault charge.
He remains there without bond set.
The incident took place Tuesday, May 30, at 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Polk School Central District Office on South College Street.
Upon arriving at the scene, police found a 17-year-old white male with a gunshot wound lying on the lawn in front of school district office.
The teen was transported to Floyd Medical Center where he underwent surgery and later recovered.
Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome said that the 17-year-old victim and Ventura-Flores had engaged in some form of cellular communication prior to the incident.
“They did have communication that brought them both to the location on South College Street,” Newsome said.
“The incident had nothing to do with Polk School District, it just happened to be the location.”
As to the label of a gang-related drug deal gone bad, Newsome said two factors contributed to that conclusion: the cell phone communication between the alleged perpetrator and the shooting victim, as well as $2,300 in fake currency located near the victim at the time officers responded.